Chapter 56

Two in the morning, and Du Ruo still hadn’t managed to sleep.
She lay on her bed, staring up at the shadowed ceiling, her mind a swirl of fog. Lately, it almost felt like her whole life these past months was just a dream.
She rolled over, groped for her phone by the pillow, glanced at it, Jing Ming’s goodnight message still glowing on the screen.
She stared at their chat window, suddenly a little sad, and tucked the phone away, burying her head in the pillow.
Next morning, she got up with her usual routine: morning study, classes, everything as normal.
In the lab, everyone was in a flurry trying to solve the acceleration problem, the pressure was on, and no one let up. Jing Ming was even busier than usual. Du Ruo hadn’t managed to mention the bracelet to him, deciding to push it aside for now and throw herself into work.
That night, she stayed researching at the library till almost closing. Just before the doors shut, her phone lit up, Jing Ming: "Where are you?"
Du Ruo: "Library. You?"
"Lab."
"Done with work?"
"Yeah, library should be about to close, right?"
"Mhm."
"I’ll come find you."
"Okay."
He sent her a meme of someone petting a Shiba Inu.
Du Ruo: "…"
She packed up, slung her bag over her shoulder, and walked downstairs to wait by the road.
The leaves rustled in the chill autumn wind, streetlights casting everything in a dreamy haze of gold.
Night had grown cold. She hunched her shoulders, then heard the thud of footsteps running up.
Jing Ming was jogging up from the end of the road.
She texted, "Stop running."
He took out his phone, checked the message, and ignored it, he kept running toward her anyway.
As he came closer, she said, “Stop running. I’m not going anywhere.”
Before she finished speaking, his grin spread wide, and he bounded across the street in a few quick strides. In the blink of an eye, he swept her into his arms and kissed her, hard, right on the lips.
Her heart gave a wild thump. His hug was a pocket of warmth she could fall right into. His hot breath skimmed her mouth, almost enough to melt her. Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around his waist and held him tight.
He let her lips go, but grazed her mouth with a few quick, teasing kisses, dropping his voice into a low laugh: “Did you miss me?”
Her eyes sparkled, cheeks blooming red. “Didn’t we just see each other in the lab this afternoon?”
“How do I still miss you this much?” he puzzled out loud, holding her tighter, nuzzling her cheek like a needy puppy. “Why do I miss you this much?”
She chuckled into his chest, voice almost a whisper: “I missed you too.”
Finally satisfied, he released her, smoothing a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “Are you hungry? Want to grab some late-night snacks?”
She teased, “If we keep eating like this every night, I’m going to put on weight.”
“You? Too skinny. Gaining weight, please,” Jing Ming scoffed. “Let me see if you actually have.” Then, with his arm around her waist, he lifted her right off the ground with one hand.
Her heart thudded again, and she lightly smacked his shoulder. “Put me down!”
He burst out laughing, setting her down gently before reaching for her hand. “Nope, still the same as always. So, what do you want to ea, ” He missed her hand, accidentally catching her wrist instead. It felt empty, no bracelet.
The laughter faded from his eyes, his question trailing off unfinished. He grabbed her hand, pushed up her sleeve, and stared at her bare, slender wrist.
He looked at her, and the color drained from her face.
“Where’s your bracelet?” Jing Ming asked. “Why aren’t you wearing it?”
“I…” Du Ruo hesitated, biting her lip. She slipped off her backpack, pulled out a box, and handed it to him. “Maybe… you should just take it back.”
Jing Ming blinked, frozen for a second. He didn’t take the box. “Why?”
“It’s too expensive.” Her palm was trembling, maybe from cold or nerves, she could hardly get the words out, but still forced herself to give a shaky smile. “I thought… it was the same kind of gift you gave He Wang or Li Wei, but then I realized it’s not…”
She couldn’t even say the number. It was more money than she’d ever imagined, over 200,000 yuan, an astronomical sum. She literally couldn’t bring herself to say it. And the worst part? She hadn’t even recognized its value, thought it was some ordinary bracelet…
She swayed in the chilly wind. “It’s just too much. Way too much. Please, just take it back.”
Jing Ming’s face darkened. He still didn’t take the box, just asked, “If I take it back, then what? Who’d I give it to?”
She forced a weak smile. “Give it to your mom…”
He cut in, “That’s the smallest size. She couldn’t wear it.”
“…” She froze, completely at a loss, holding the box awkwardly in mid-air. She’d already taken it out, no way to stuff it back in her bag. Utterly mortified, her mind went blank. She blurted, flustered, “Maybe return it. Or… sell it?”
Even Jing Ming was thrown for a loop at that.
Her words made his brow twitch in offense, and his voice sharpened, “This is the first gift I ever gave you. You want to sell it?”
“That’s not what I meant! Don’t say it like that, please!” She was frantic now, sweating in the chilly autumn night. “I just, this is just too much for me to accept!”
He sounded almost amused, his laugh cold. “Then tell me. Why can’t you take it?”
“I told you, it’s just too expensive.”
“To me, it’s really not. Can you not…”
“To me, it is!” she cut him off, voice sharp.
Jing Ming fell silent, staring at her.
She trembled, meeting his gaze.
No answer.
He wrenched his head away, fixing his eyes on the trunk of a nearby tree. He ran a hand through his hair, breathing hard to force down the frustration burning in his chest, then turned back to her and said,
“Du Ruo, can you stop being so dramatic?”
She flinched like she’d been stabbed.
“I already bought it, and now you’re giving it back? What’s that supposed to mean?” Jing Ming pressed. “What do you want me to do now, huh? Tell me, am I supposed to keep it for myself? Wear it myself?”
Du Ruo gave a bitter, helpless laugh, her heart aching. “Why couldn’t you just think about me when you bought it? How am I supposed to wear it? I’m just some regular student, you want me to show up at school with a two-hundred-thousand-yuan bracelet? Everyone’s already gossiping about me, now you do this! And how am I supposed to visit your house again? Meet your parents? What am I supposed to do, walk in wearing a bracelet you bought me for that much money? How do you think that makes me look? You asked what I mean, what about you? Why couldn’t you consider that before you bought it?!”
“Consider you? You think I haven’t?” Jing Ming snapped, voice rising. “I earned that money myself, it’s not from my parents! I walked by a shop, saw that bracelet, and immediately thought of you. I just wanted to make you happy, wanted to see you smile when you saw it! Is that so wrong? What, is it a crime now for me to buy my girlfriend a bracelet?!”
Her expression cracked; she was torn and guilty, angry and on the verge of tears. She shook her head, voice soft, desperate, “No, I didn’t mean that, just forget I said it…”
“Have you ever thought about me, even once? Tried to see things from my side? I keep trying to understand your world, but you, have you ever taken a step toward mine? Can’t you even try? Or do you really want me to drag myself down to your level instead?”
She stared at him, stunned into silence, suddenly at a loss for words.
He wasn’t wrong. She was.
She could only shake her head, unable to say a single word.
He would never understand her shame, her smallness.
The streetlight painted his shadow on her body, heavy enough to collapse her. Everything about him, his heart, his love, his strengths and flaws, they were more than she could handle.
Rigid but stubborn, she walked up and shoved the box into his hands. “I don’t want it. Take it back.”
That finally did it, he snapped. He snatched the box and hurled it to the ground.
The lid flew open, the platinum bracelet tumbled onto the concrete and clattered, bouncing with a crisp jangle that made Du Ruo’s heart lurch.
“If you don’t want it, then toss it!” he shot back. Without another word, he turned and stormed off.
She stood frozen, her heart sliced open by an icy blade. After a long moment, she snapped out of it, scrambling to pick up the box and bracelet in a panic.
In the streetlight, she saw several scratches gouged along the bracelet’s edge. The sight made her heart ache so badly she almost couldn’t breathe. Tears rushed out, unchecked, soaking her cheeks.
She squatted down, scrubbing at the scratches with trembling fingers, as if she could rub them away, no use. The bracelet was scratched for good. Overwhelmed, she broke down, sobbing, wiping her tears, still trying to polish the metal clean.
With her sleeve, Du Ruo carefully wiped all the dust from the bracelet and the box. Only after a long time did she stand, hugging the box to her chest as she walked on, coughing up sobs with every step.
The fallen leaves cracked beneath her shoes, sharp as the sound of a breaking heart.
She kept her head down, tears dripping steadily, until she stopped in front of a shadowy figure.
She looked up, Jing Ming stood waiting at the crosswalk ahead.
The streetlight pulled his shadow long, stretching from his feet to hers. He stood a little apart, back to the light, face unreadable.
Instantly, she bit back her tears, hurriedly wiping her face and ducking her head as she tried to slip past him.
But just as she passed, he reached out and caught her arm, gently pulling her into his arms. His voice was soft in her ear: “It’s my fault. Don’t cry.”
That only made her tears flow harder, soaking his jacket in seconds.
“There’s nothing worth crying about.” He dipped his head, using his thumb to wipe her tears away. She stayed silent, not making a sound as the tears continued to stream. He sighed, hugging her close. “Come on, don’t cry. I wasn’t even mad at you, I just, ”
“Ruo Ruo…” He pressed his cheek to her tear-stained face. “We’re going to stay together, you know? Everything that’s yours is mine, and everything that’s mine is yours. It’s just a bracelet. Let’s not fight over something so pointless, okay? Not worth it at all.”
“No fighting,” she finally managed through sobs. “I was wrong too. I said things I shouldn’t… but I just, ”
“I know.” He cut her off gently, understanding the ache in her heart before she spoke. “If you don’t want to wear it, then leave it. But you keep it. Don’t ever talk about giving it back again. Someday you’ll be able to wear it, I promise. Okay?”
“…Okay.” She nodded and wrapped her arms around his waist.
“That’s enough now. Don’t cry.” He soothed her, patting her back. “Hey, don’t cry, alright?”